The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-04
SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE
The New Phosphate Bill - Farmer
Tillman's Movement.

IllluldI ; MOV6InSIlJ.
COLUMBIA, S. c., Dec. 3.-The second
week of the legislative session of 1887 closed
to-day with no important achievements in
legislative point of view. The most inn
portant measure, in an industrial sense, is
the phosphate bill, the summary of which
has been published in the telegraphic col
umns of the MORNING NEWS. The question
is an important and interesting one. There
can be no doubt that the phosphate industry
is languishing, and as the State
gets an income of $500, 900 annually from
the royalty the State may be said to have
a considerable interest in it, The legisla-
tive commission appointed at the last seS-
sion spent almost a month in the phosphate
regions. and have presented as the result of
their Investigations a bill embodying
scheme which it is claimed will remedy the
evil complained of. Under the old system
anyone who could give bond could get
license, take a fat and a pair of dredging
tongs and mine phosphateS in any territory
not granted by charter to one of the.tive big
concerns that are engaged i'll the work, pay
ing, of course, the royalty of 81 for every
ton they mined. This, it is said, caused an
over production. The land companies too,
who of course pay no royalty, digging the
phosphates from the earth,) also produced
largely. An attempt was made last spring
to form a syndicate and pool the products,
but this failed. Production went on, the mar
ket became glutted and as consequence rock
went down until 1t reached a figure that
barely paid the cost of mining.
The scheme proposed by the bill now be-
fore the General Assembly is briefly as fol
lows: All general rights are to be revoked
and the entire phosphate territory of the
State (river, of course) is to be leased for
twenty years to the following companies: !,
the Sea Island Chemical Company; 2, the
Phosphate Mining Company, limited 3 the
Coosaw; 4. the Oak Point; ;, the Farmers.
This combination Is to pay 81 per ton royalty
to the State, with a minimum annual
ROYALTY of S175.000, this will probably be
raised to $500, 900 and should the price of
rock go above Sc per ton the State is to re-
ceive 80 per cent. of the excess Of that figure.
This, it is claimed, will place in the hands
of the new syndicate the power to regulate
the product and to advance prices, while it
will at the same time assure the State of an
annual income of at least 100000 for
twenty wears. The bill has not yet been
discussed.
FARMER TILLMAN'S MOVEMENT.
The complete collapse of the Farmers or
Tillman movement has caused considerable
surprise The movement was inaugurated
about three years ago by Capt B. r. Till
man, OF EQReIell, WIZ FlkOI-
ous war of invective against the extrava-
gance and corruption of the State govern
ment. The first convention was loudly and
vehemently denunciatory; the second was
not so violent; the last, which adjourned to-
day, was mild and conciliatory, limiting its
demands to the establishment of separate
agricultural college by the State and
to the reorganization of the Agricultural
Bureau. Serious fears were entertained at
one time that the Farmers movement would
result in split in the ranks of the Demo
cratic party in the State, and the conven-
ton which adjourned yesterday, meeting as
it did, on the eve Of the next general cleo
ton, was regarded with considerable inter
est. Everybody expected warm time, an
abundance of denunciation and some savage
attacks on the government. Great was the
surprise, therefore, when the convention
met, passed platform petitioning the Leg
islature for an agricultural college, profess
ing confidence in the integrity and wisdom
of the State administration, and then ad-
iourned AS a matter of fact Farmer Till
man had lost his grip on the farmers, and
the bottom has dropped out Of his move
ment."